Mr. Johnston is suggesting that COPPA is unconstitutionally vague. The void for vagueness doctrine does not apply just because the regulation or statute raises difficult questions of fact. Statutes are only void for vagueness when they don't articulate a standard. Further even assuming arguendo that the statute is vague, you have to prove that it encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Just because Youtube LLC has utterly failed to provide clarity does not some how create any obstacle for the government to overcome. The FTC has treated this whole situation with kid gloves and exercised extreme discretion in allowing the status quo until January.
Mr. Johnston talks about Director Smith's comments about the unattended consequences of COPPA enforcement leading to a "desert of crap." Youtube is only going to become a "desert of crap" due to Youtube continuing to pursue their altered algorithm. Views aren't tied to ads, kids will gladly watch these videos without ads. The "desert of crap" argument is only valid when the government allows Youtube to refuse to take action to legally support kids content. Youtube can and should create a system where parents provide consent with age gates to allow children content to continue to thrive. Youtube has decided that profit is more important than protecting kids and loyal kid content creators. They are certainly free to make this business decision, but they are not free to lie about it particularly when they are wholly owned by a publicly traded company.
I respect Mr. Johnston's effort to protect his business, but he needs to provide a full disclaimer of what his advocacy is all about. His channel is mostly watched by kids and the inability to run personalized ads on his channel will result in a tremendous loss of revenue for him. There may be adults watching his channel, but the vast majority of his audience is kids. While I disagree with advocacy groups on many of their perspectives, there is valid research showing that this enforcement is necessary. We as content creators can't ignore this and we must be prepared to take concessions.
Mr. Johnston says that the best thing to do is continue to put pressure on the FTC. I disagree, the best thing to do is to continue to put the pressure on Youtube. It is quite clear at this point that they have NOT done enough.
